MARKET REPORT

THE Christmas sparkle came off retail stocks yesterday after Marks & Spencer served up turkey by posting steep falls in food and clothing sales.

M&S was the biggest faller on the top flight, as it pinned the blame on mild October weather for a 2.8% fall in like-for-like clothing and home sales during the 13 weeks to December 30.

Shares were down 22.8p to 301.2p, as the retailer’s woes were compounded by a 0.4% sales drop at its food arm.

Next and Primark owner Associated British Foods also fell foul of wider sell-off of retail stocks - down 77p to 4,963p and 23p to 2,818p respectively - but the FTSE 100 Index still managed a fresh record high, rising 14.43 points to 7,762.94.

Tesco was among the biggest fallers despite reporting a solid rise in sales over the critical Christmas trading period.

The supermarket giant said UK like-for-like sales rose by 1.9% in the six weeks to January 6, driven by a strong grocery performance.

The four weeks leading up to Christmas Day delivered record sales and volumes in the UK, which helped it notch up a 2.3% rise in third quarter comparable sales.

But the figures fell short of analysts’ expectations, leading Tesco shares to tumble more than 4%, or 9.6p to 202.3p.

Supermarkets Morrisons and Sainsbury’s also suffered in the wake of the slump, drifting down 3.3p to 226.2p and 5.3p to 248.6p respectively.

In a contrast of fortunes, takeaway firm Just Eat enjoyed a stellar session, finishing the day as the biggest riser following a broker upgrade from Barclays. Shares were up 36.2p to 803.8p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Just Eat up 36.2p to 803.8p, easyJet up 57.5p to 1,536.5p, Anglo American up 60.6p to 1,761p, Bunzl up 45p to 2,050p.

The biggest fallers were Marks & Spencer down 22.8p to 301.2p, Tesco down 9.6p to 202.3p, Barratt Developments down 17.2p to 617p, Barclays down 5.1p to 196.1p.